• Posted 12/19/2024.
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    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
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    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Your thought's for a reptile rack.....

A

albyalby1

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So with my next daughter on the way i have decided to step away from reptiles. As a side thing i want to start making my own racks for people in this hobby. I have had a few different racks and some have worked great and others did not. Some of them had a fair price and others cost thousands.

So my wife's father has a CNC Machine company and i have been kicking the idea around with him about making our own racks. There is a few things i would like to know from you all what would you like that current racks don't have or maybe you would like to change. Below i am just going to ask a few things and if you have the time please feel free to let me know...


1. What do you feel is a fair price on a rack that would be made with the cnc machine. A nice sturdy well crafted rack?

2. Do you prefer a wood or metal rack?

3.Do you feel that the current tubs on the market are easy to clean/ absorb heat and are good for the reptile?

4. Heat rope is out of the question.... Do you like belly or back heat better?

5. Do you think current rack offer the right size? Would you like a bigger or smaller rack?

If there is anything else you would like to add let me know.

Thanks for your time Albert L
 
Please keep in mind I don't know much about cnc machines & what the capabilities are regarding to size & materials.

1. What do you feel is a fair price on a rack that would be made with the cnc machine. A nice sturdy well crafted rack? Obviously the manufacturing company would need to make profit but total price I think it would depend on rack size & materials used.

2. Do you prefer a wood or metal rack? again it would depend on the size of the rack in regards to weight. Plain wood would probably not be as popular as Melamine or something that is better sealed. It probably would also depend on the heat & humidity needed for a particular species.

3.Do you feel that the current tubs on the market are easy to clean/ absorb heat and are good for the reptile? I don't currently have a rack but use a similar tub as a hide box & can verify it absorbs heat well & is very easy to clean. I think the affordability of these tubs is also a bonus.

4. Heat rope is out of the question.... Do you like belly or back heat better? I currently use heat panels & love them but also know belly heat could be preferred for certain species & can be an asset to many reptiles in digestion & when pregnant. Enough above heat can be maintained in substrate for a good amount of critters but I definitely would offer both options if possible.

5. Do you think current rack offer the right size? Would you like a bigger or smaller rack? I personally would like to see larger style racks. A majority of reptile keeps have multiple animals. People with larger animals (burmese pythons or boas) that require more space are limited to certain enclosures where keepers of smaller animals (example:ball pythons or corns) have a little more options.

If there is anything else you would like to add let me know.
If you create a quality rack large enough to house large critters while maintaining heat/humidity, that takes up minimum room, & is affordable let me know. The ideal of above access rather side sounds a lot easier to me for removing larger critters as well as cleaning.
 
I like bigger racks... that being said, I too am looking into manufacturing a better system to keep my Drymarchons in.
The size of tub I would like is 12" tall, 8' wide and 30" deep for the adults. I'm thinking of acrylic for the tubs themselves, and imbedding a leaf pattern such as Mossy Oak inside the acrylic with a few spots for "windows" between the leaves so the snake can see out and you can see in, but the animal still has privacy.
The frame would be metal, preferably aluminum, and beefy. Wood is out of the question since you can't sterilize it.
As for a formula on price, I would follow the rule of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and have no employee, including yourself, making more than 7 times the wage of another, then try and make 100% profit on materials, and see where the price lands.
I'd have a combo of belly and basking heat sources as well, but have not really gotten that figured out yet. Just my $.02
 
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